Giants To Place Derek Law On DL

In what could be a major blow to their bullpen, the Giants will place right-hander Derek Law on the disabled list with a strained right elbow, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link). The club will recall outfielder Jarrett Parker from Triple-A Sacramento to take Law’s roster spot, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area.

Law, 25, has enjoyed a tremendous rookie season until now, having recorded a 1.94 ERA, 8.29 K/9, 1.59 BB/9 and 50 percent ground-ball rate in 51 innings. Not only is his loss troubling from a baseball standpoint, then, but the injury itself is also reason for worry because Law underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014. He has also experienced a dip in velocity, which the Giants’ staff is concerned about, per Baggarly (Twitter link).

Regardless of whether Law’s out for two weeks or far longer, his absence should negatively affect the free-falling Giants, who have gone 13-26 since the All-Star break and hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the National League wild-card race. Despite Law’s stellar production, San Francisco’s bullpen only ranks toward the middle of the pack in both ERA and K/BB ratio. Now, without their best reliever, the Giants will have to get by with a group led by Santiago Casilla, Hunter Strickland, Sergio Romo and trade deadline acquisition Will Smith.